The Davis Lab in the Department of Neuroscience at The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute is seeking to hire a Research Assistant I to help develop new therapeutics for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. The lab has a large effort that focuses on the impairments in mitochondria in neurons that occur in Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, and other neurodegenerative diseases. We employ multiple techniques in this pursuit, including cell-based assay development; high content screening of small molecules; cell culture of mouse neurons, human neurons derived from iPSCs, and other immortalized cell types; molecular biology and in vivo testing of drugs in both Drosophila and mouse models for neurodegenerative diseases.

The successful candidate will help with the vivo testing of drugs in animal models for diseases, which may include performing molecular biological techniques to probe mitochondrial dynamics and function such as Western blotting, Seahorse assays, ATP generation assays, and mitochondrial isolation; and/or behavioral assays of animal models for the diseases such as locomotor activity, measurements of neuromuscular control and strength, and learning and memory. The successful candidate may also participate in the screens for potential therapeutics that includes cell culture of mouse neurons or human neurons derived from iPSCs, and high content screening.

Responsibilities and Duties:

• Monitor the health and maintain the animal colony (Drosophila) used by the lab
• Conduct experiments on neurodegenerative disease models of Drosophila
• Plan and document all experimental methods and data collected
• Perform cell culture experiments
• Maintain the equipment used for experimental procedures
• Finalize progress reports on data collected, and interpretations

Commensurate with experience.

BS or equivalent in the biological or chemical sciences.

Three (3) months of cell culture is preferred.

For consideration, applicants must upload a cover letter and resume.

Please provide names and email addresses of three to five references as part of the application process. When ready, the hiring department will contact the listed references via email requesting their reference letters to be uploaded directly to the application website.

This is a time limited position.

This position is open until filled. Application review will begin on May 22, 2023.